It was a good day for soccer in Medellin as Atletico Nacional beat Independiente Santa Fe 3-0, while Independiente Medellin earned a 2-4 victory at Real Cartagena.
Santa Fe began the match with Nacional as Group B leaders, but their defensive style allowed their opponents to dominate the match from start to finish.
Ezequiel Maggiolo put Nacional ahead in the 22nd minute, and Jair Iglesias doubled that gap four minutes after the hour. The third and final goal came from Giovanni Moreno, from a free kick in minute 86.
Santa Fe and Nacional now share the lead in this group, and the two sides meet again in Bogota next week. Santa Fe do have an ‘invisible point’ due to their better classification in the first round.
Independiente Medellin did not have the perfect start at Real Cartagena, where Mauricio Arquez put the home side in the lead on 23 minutes.
But Medellin were handed a penalty in the 36th minute, which Edgar Pardo converted for 1-1. Pardo went on to net the away side’s second five minutes later, and complete his impressive hat-trick just before the break.
Yohn Mosquera made it 1-4 in minute 66, and Edwards Jimenez’s goal for 2-4 nine minutes later was not nearly enough to threaten DIM’s lead.
In other soccer news, Cortulua secured their spot in next year’s Colombian top flight with a 4-1 aggregate victory over Bucaramanga in the Copa Premier final. The first leg ended 3-0 to the Tulua based outfit, and the second leg had a 1-1 draw as result.